@ Tarz Lam – the information published on the Education Department website implies that children in the PEA who also have a sibling already attending the school get some preference. If a school is going to enrol on a first come first serve basis without regard to siblings (ie other than what the department says publicly) then they need to be open about it and make that information available to all potential applicants.

I would guess because people from other suburbs for some reason school shop. They pretend to live in a suburb they want to send their children in, by renting an apartment or using a friends address. This puts pressures on school numbers the whole way through school. People should support their local school. All act schools are great. I wonder if the ACT gov did an audit on where people actually lived compared to where they tell their school they live, what the findings would show.

Unlike other levels of school (kindergarten to year 12), your child is not guaranteed a place in their “local” (known as priority enrolment area) pre-school. This is because:

Pre-school is not compulsory (some kids do pre-school through their child-care organisation instead of through one that is on a school campus)
Pre-school class sizes are capped at 22 children per class

You are guaranteed a place, just not at the nearest pre-school.

You can request a review from the principal but it probably wont help unless another child leaves.

re: "Clamp down on people not living in the area" - This is an interesting point. We clearly meet that criteria, as well as have a sibling in the school. It would be interesting to know if all the children who were offered positions genuinely meet that criteria too. From my casual observations at drop-offs & pick-ups, I find it hard to believe that there would be 45 other children who would meet this criteria. Call me paranoid, but I am suspicious there has been some funny business going on.

You need to contact the school and make an appointment to discuss rejection. It’s possible the school may not actually know if the decision was made at a higher level. You should then follow the appeals procedure. Fees at ACT public schools are voluntary so non payment of fees would not be an issue.

As public school fees are "voluntary" in the ACT, I wouldn't have thought late payment would have been a consideration. Are you 100% sure that all the information you entered on the enrollment form was correct? (especially address)